


Jumper

by themayqueen



Category: Hanson (Band)
Genre: Depression, Fame, Gallows Humor, Letters, Phone Calls & Telephones, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-02-05
Updated: 2001-02-05
Packaged: 2019-02-11 03:53:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12926820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themayqueen/pseuds/themayqueen
Summary: On the worst day of her life, a girl runs into Taylor Hanson.





	Jumper

_I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend..._

Would it hurt? Would I die instantly? So many questions in my mind. If I was so worried, maybe I shouldn't jump. No. Jump. End the pain once and for all.

One step and it would all be over. All I had to was move one foot a few inches, and I would end all of my suffering. 

"I wouldn't jump if I were you." I didn't turn around to see the face behind the voice.

"You aren't me. You don't know what it's like."

"Yes I do. Or I can guess. My life is pretty hard too. Every day they're there. Always yelling my name and how much they love me. They don't know me. All they know is my face and   
my voice. They don't know my heart, and they don't know my mind. And then there are the crazy ones. The ones that stalk and the ones that jump onstage and latch onto me. It's a terrible way to live."

I knew him then. He was Taylor Hanson. "But they love you, even if for the wrong reasons. They don't hate you."

"Haven't you heard? We're not exactly very popular. This Time Around didn't even sell half as many copies as Middle Of Nowhere. No one wants to hear us anymore. Everywhere I go, there are more haters than before. It hurts."

Poor little rich boy. And stupid. Thinking his life was so terrible. He couldn't begin to understand all the pain I felt. 

"Leave me alone! Just go away and let me jump! Don't think I won't!" I yelled at him. To prove my point, I lifted my right foot almost an inch off the ground, just enough to throw my balance and send me to street below. I began to fall, and then I hit the ground. But it was too soon! 

Slowly, I opened my eyes. I was laying on the roof, with Taylor's arm around my waist. He had saved me. But why? Why couldn't he just let me jump and end all my pain?

*

I didn't jump. Why didn't I jump? Why did I let him stop me? For the 24 hours after my failed attempt at suicide, those questions kept running through my mind. And I couldn't find an answer for any of them. 

When I got home from work, there was a note tacked to the door of my appartment. I took it down and read the messy handwriting.

\--  
 _Why You Shouldn't Jump_

 _1\. Because concrete hurts.  
2\. Because you could land on a car and take the people in it with you   
to the grave.  
3\. Because the hospital wants to save your life.  
4\. Because even dead people don't like being statistics.  
5\. Because you could be there to save someone else._  
\--

I turned to paper over to find a phone number. I ran into the kitchen and picked up the phone. I dialed the number and waited impatiently. One ring...two rings...three rings...

"Hello?"

"What do you want from me!" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Nothing."

That was no answer. "Why do you care?"

"I just do."

I was getting frustrated with him. Maybe it was an overreaction, but before I thought about it, I yelled, "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST LET ME JUMP?!"

Silence. Then finally he spoke, "You aren't a jumper. I knew when I saw you standing there. You were shaking and it wasn't cold. I couldn't let you jump."

I asked the second question again. "Why do you care?"

More silence. It seemed like forever before he answered. I had to strain to hear his voice, which was barely above a whisper.

"I was up there to jump. But when I saw you, I knew I wasn't a jumper. And I knew I couldn't let another person jump if they weren't a jumper either."

Then the line went dead.


End file.
